Report Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation Plan - Freight .

Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation Plan - Freight Element2.0Existing Freight Policies, Objectives, and VisionsThe three M/TPOs in the Treasure Coast region have an established process to create individual LongRange Transportation Plans (LRTPs). The most recent 2040 LRTPs were adopted in late 2015 through early2016. With a 2040 planning horizon, the LRTPs account for the substantial changes that have occurred sincethe completion of the 2035 plans. Specifically, federal legislation and statewide planning efforts such asMoving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the Fixing America's Surface Transportation(FAST) Act, the 2060 Florida Transportation Plan (FTP), and the Freight Mobility and Trade Plan (FMTP)have been reshaping the goals and objectives that M/TPOs are working towards. The counties primarilyworked to align their goals, objectives, and performance measures with MAP-21 Goals and the 2060 FTPGoals. For the purposes of this Treasure Coast RLRTP Freight Element, existing goals and objectives werereviewed to identify policy language that encompasses the needs of the freight system and its users.2.1Existing Federal and State Freight GuidanceOne of the primary purposes of developing freight goals and objectives at the M/TPO level is to ensure thatestablished plans are consistent with state and federal guidance. This is critical for an M/TPO to be eligiblefor all available funding programs. Over the past few years, updates to and creation of statewidetransportation planning documents, as well as the passage of new surface transportation legislation at thefederal level has impacted the planning environment M/TPOs are working within.The first of these is the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or MAP-21. This legislation wassigned into law in July of 2012 to provide over 105 billion for surface transportation investments in fiscalyears 2013 and 2014. This legislation was the first long-term highway legislation enacted since 2005 and setthe stage for a performance based multimodal program. Key changes made through MAP-21 include anexpansion of the National Highway System (NHS), establishment of a performance-based program, and arestructuring of existing or new formula programs. This was the current legislation when the LRTPs weredeveloped for the three counties and was used as guidance for their goals and objectives.Since the completion of the LRTPs, new federal legislation has come out in the form of the Fixing America’sSurface Transportation Act, or FAST Act. Signed into law in December 2015, this law authorizes 305 billionover fiscal years 2016 through 2020 for surface transportation infrastructure planning and investment. Thislegislation builds upon the foundation developed by MAP-21. The FAST Act seeks to improve mobility onAmerica’s highways through the development of programs and policies such as a new National MultimodalFreight Policy, funding through a new National Highway Freight Program, and the development of a newdiscretionary grant program for nationally significant freight and highway projects. Specifically, the FAST Actdesignates approximately 1.2 billion per year for the National Highway Freight Program allocated to statesby formula; the FASTLANE grant program, created as a discretionary competitive grant program, allocatesan additional 4.5 billion over five years for freight projects. In addition, the FAST Act will support economicgrowth, accelerate project delivery, and promote innovation. When the LRTPs for the Treasure CoastM/TPOs are updated once again, they will need to align planning policies with the guidance set forth by thisAct.At the state level, the 2060 FTP creates a vision and guidance over the next 50 years for transportation andinvestment decisions in Florida. This plan establishes the policy framework for the expenditure of state andfederal transportation funds allocated to Florida through the work program. In addition, this documentCambridge Systematics, Inc.2-1

Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation Plan - Freight Elementprovides guidance for other transportation partners, such as MPOs, transit agencies, and the like, as theywork towards future plans and projects. The three major sections of the FTP are: Identifying key trends, issues, and opportunities whichshape Florida’s transportation past and future;Seven long range goals to guide transportation decisions,along with objectives, strategies, and indicators to supporteach goal; andKey actions to implement the FTP.The state has also developed a comprehensive freight planand program. The Freight Mobility and Trade Plan (FMTP) wasconceived in April 2012 through Florida House Bill 599. Thetwo main components of this document are the Policy Element,completed in June 2013, and the Investment Element, whichwas completed in September 2014. While Florida has beenactively engaged in freight planning for many years, MAP-21specifically called for states to develop freight plans. Anadopted freight plan ensures that Florida is eligible foradditional funding opportunities as up-to-date, compliant freightplans are now a requirement under the FAST Act in order toprogram projects with federal formula freight funding. Statefreight plans were required to have the following elements:Florida Transportation Plan Goals Safety and security for residents,visitors, and businesses Agile, resilient, and qualitytransportation infrastructure Efficient and reliable mobility forpeople and freight More transportation choices for peopleand freight Transportation solutions that supportFlorida's global economiccompetitiveness Transportation solutions that supportquality places to live, learn, work, andplay Transportation solutions that enhanceFlorida's environment and conserveenergySource: FTP Vision Element, FDOT,August 2015 Identify trends, needs, and issues; Describe policies, strategies, and performance measures to guide investment decisions; Describe how the plan will improve the state’s ability to meet national freight goals; Consider innovative technologies and operational strategies; Describe improvements required to reduce deterioration of heavy truck routes; and Provide an inventory of facilities with freight mobility issues and strategies to address those issues.These planning and policy documents provide an excellent reference point for the M/TPOs to consider in thedevelopment of their own goals and objectives. As these documents are modified moving forward, they canprovide a reference point for the changes in transportation policies and visioning.2.2Indian River County Freight Goals and ObjectivesBoth Indian River and Martin counties developed their goals and objectives in a similar fashion. The overallgoals and objectives of these 2040 LRTPs are aligned with the MAP-21 and 2060 Florida TransportationPlan Goals. Freight is specifically called out under the MAP-21 goals related to “Freight Movement andEconomic Vitality”.Cambridge Systematics, Inc.2-2

Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation Plan - Freight ElementIndian River County developed five goals for this LRTP, each with its own subset of objectives. While manygoals related to safety, connectivity and access impact the movement of freight, only a handful relate directlyto freight. Of these five, two are identified as directly related to freight movement, with a combined total ofthree objectives. These objectives focused on implementing multimodal improvements, improving theStrategic Intermodal System (SIS) network, and enhancing freight mobility, as summarized in Table 2.1.Recommended enhancements for the Indian River MPO focus on the addition of freight specific objectives tothe safety and preservation goals (goals 4 and 5). Each of these areas are impacted by freight operations.Safety concerns related to reducing crash and injury rates may be different for freight movements. Forinstance, an interchange ramp may be too steep for a truck to safely navigate, resulting in the truck rollingdown an embankment. Crash rates here could be reduced by making improvements to the ramp. Thepreservation goal of Indian River is focused on pavement index ratings and the bridge network. As trucks areheavier than a typical passenger car, they can have a much greater impact on these facilities. Rehabilitatinga roadway without an understanding of the truck traffic on that roadway may result in deteriorated conditionsmuch faster than expected. An understanding of the routes heavily used by trucks can ensure thatimprovement projects are undertaken with all users in mind.Table 2.1Indian River County Freight Goals and ObjectivesGoal 1: A connected, responsive, aesthetically pleasing, and efficient transportation system that meets theneeds of Indian River County residents, visitors, and businessesObjective 1.03: Enhance the grid roadway network by constructing an average of two centerline miles of new roadwaycorridors with appropriate multimodal improvements each year from 2020 to 2040Objective 1.04: Enhance the FDOT’s Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) by constructing the Oslo Road Interchangeat Interstate 95 by 2040Goal 2: A transportation system that provides travel alternatives which enhance mobility for people and freightObjective 2.06: Enhance freight mobility by improving an average of one centerline mile of roadway with appropriatemultimodal improvements each year that are identified as serving freight movementSource:Connecting Indian River County: Long Range Transportation Plan 2040 Update.2.3Martin County Freight Goals and ObjectivesAs mentioned above, Martin County identified and categorized the 2040 LRTP goals and objectives in asimilar fashion as Indian River, albeit with some modifications. Martin County identified four overall goals,each of which has earmarked “Freight Movement and Economic Vitality” as a component of one or moreobjectives. Even though each of the four goals addresses freight or economics, only two goals specificallyaddress freight, along with four objectives as shown in Table 2.2. Martin County did not identify specificpolicies to help reach these goals and objectives, but did identify performance measures used to determinehow well the county is trending towards each objective.Recommended enhancements for the Martin MPO focus on separating “freight movement” and “economicvitality” when screening existing objectives for relevance to freight. In looking at the objectives identified asaddressing “freight movement and economic vitality”, only one specifically mentions freight or improvingfreight networks (Objective 1B: Support improvements to major roadway freight corridors). Others indirectlyrelate to freight by referencing overall performance (e.g., prioritize improvements that maintain acceptableCambridge Systematics, Inc.2-3

Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation Plan - Freight Elementtravel performance), however, many relate to objectives that support economic vitality but not freightmovement (e.g., increasing sidewalk coverage; improving transit commuter access to employment; andincreasing the bike facility coverage). While freight movements are directly tied to economic vitality, a moresuitable way to address this MAP-21 goal may be to separate the two components to ensure the specificfreight goals of the county can be more readily realized and measured.Table 2.2Martin County Freight Goals and ObjectivesGoal 1: An efficient multimodal transportation system that supports the local economy and maintains thequality of lifeB. Support improvements to major roadway freight corridorsJ. Support projects that enhance the local economyL. Prioritize funding for projects that improve existing corridors that address multimodal transportation needs withcontext sensitive designsGoal 2: A safe multimodal transportation systemB. Prioritize projects and programs that improve safety on corridors with highest number of crashes with fatal andincapacitating injuries by modeSource:Moving Martin Forward: 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan.2.4St. Lucie County Freight Goals and ObjectivesSt. Lucie County developed the goals and objectives of the 2040 LTRP in a different manner. Goals andobjectives are aligned with MAP-21. A total of six goals were developed, with three identified as related to“Movement of People and Freight”. However, only one goal with two objectives directly address themovement of freight. Table 2.3 shows the goals and objectives specific to freight.Recommended enhancements for the St. Lucie TPO focus on separating the movement of freight and themovement of people, as well as adding freight objectives for Goals 3 and 6. Existing objectives under eachalready cover freight indirectly (e.g., Goal 3: maintain condition of existing transportation assets, improveefficiency of existing transportation services; Goal 6: improve safety of transportation system that mayinclude incorporation of infrastructure in support of automated vehicles). The defined goals and objectivesare utilized to score projects and determine their priorities. Without objectives specifically related to freight,the corresponding project ranking criteria are similarly not freight-focused. As a result, a freight project wouldscore very low based on the existing project ranking criteria.Table 2.3St. Lucie County Freight Goals and ObjectivesGoal 1: Provide for efficient transportation that serves local and regional needs and stimulates economicprosperity and growthEnable people and goods to move around efficiently.Increase transportation options and improve access to destinations that support prosperity and growth.Source:Go2040: St. Lucie TPO Long Range Transportation Plan.Cambridge Systematics, Inc.2-4

Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation Plan - Freight Element3.0Freight and Logistics System ElementsThe freight system of the Treasure Coast region is a multimodal network consisting of roadways, railways,airports, a seaport, waterways, and other supporting infrastructure such as warehouses, distribution centers,and truck parking facilities. The network is shown in Figure 3.1 with further information on each of thesecomponents detailed in the following subsections.3.1Key Freight RoadwaysA well connected network of roadways is pivotal to the efficient movement of goods and services. While mostroutes will be used by trucks in some capacity for local deliveries, only a portion of the overall system isconsidered critical for freight movements. Without efficient movements on these roadways, other local streetsmay suffer from congestion as drivers attempt to find alternative routes. The three designations includedhere are: Strategic Intermodal System Roadways (SIS) National Highway Freight Network (NHFN) Locally designated truck routes3.1.1Key Roadway DesignationsStrategic Intermodal System RoadwaysThe Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) roadways are the backbone of the roadway network. These roadwaysrepresent the state’s high priority network of transportation facilities which facilitate mobility and economicdevelopment. The roadways and facilities identified as part of the SIS are critical for interregional, interstate,and international travel and are eligible for additional funding options from the state. At the state level, SIShighway facilities carry 89 percent of all interregional rail and bus passengers, 55 percent of total traffic, and

Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation Plan - Freight Element Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 1-1 1.0 Introduction and Background The Treasure Coast region has been actively engaged in regional transportation planning for several years. Freight was identified as a key component for the 2040 Treasure Coast Regional Long Range Transportation